‘Amal could wet-lease model for haj market’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s (MAS) pilgrim-centric service dedicated for umrah and haj, Amal is deemed as a “sensible” option for the national carrier to use the four-engined A380 superjumbo in its stable.

CAPA Centre for Aviation chief analyst and Southeast Asia chief representative Brendan Sobie said the plan for Amal was to have its own operator’s certificate and secure new investors, therefore enabling MAS to focus on its turnaround without having to worry about the A380.

However, he said it would be challenging for Amal to operate outside Malaysia due to regulatory restrictions and the need to overcome airport infrastructure challenges that preclude A380 operations in several key Umrah markets.

In his recent report, Sobie said Amal was targeting the massive Indonesia to Saudi Arabia pilgrimage market by offering connectivity via Kuala Lumpur.

He said the original plan was to have a separate airline take over and operate all six of MAS’ A380s, following a retrofit to a much higher density configuration.

Sobie said Amal could potentially be interested in wet-leasing A380s for haj market in other countries, making the charter service to work with a foreign airline designated to carry pilgrims.

He said Amal’s wet-leasing aircraft to foreign airlines would be a key component for its longterm strategy.

A MAS spokesperson said the decision to launch Amal was based on a few key factors. This included real opportunities to tap, expand and improve the pilgrimage service business for Southeast Asia, with 250,000 and one million Umrah passengers from Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively.

“With the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, the number of total pilgrims will be quadrupled to 30 million by 2030. Therefore, Amal is envisaged to support this vision and benefit from the growth prospect,” he said.